Roy Banks: "Sincerely Banks (loverboy Part I) [Album Review]

Over the last couple weeks I've introduced you to Chicago's Roy Banks and today I have the release of his EP "Sincerely Banks (loverboy Part 1)". With R&B having somewhat of a changing of the guard with artists like SZA, Frank Ocean, Brockhampton and others breaking through with critical numbers, thankfully we're seeing indie artists elevate their game as well.

"Sincerely Banks" was a lovely surprise to me, we premiered his single "Blessings" along with the remix, but when combined with the rest of the album "Blessings" stands out even more. The EP is extremely personal, Banks doesn't mince words on his feelings and vulnerabilities. For me this is what music needs, hell this is what the black community needs. You can hear the Chicago in him, you can hear the glimpses of Chance the Rapper and in fact I think "Letters to August" samples a joint from the Social Experiment's 2015 album "Surf".

Despite this being an R&B charged album, Banks has some bars to drop on you too. "Deep Cuts" is him calling the audience to action in these dark times, he let's us know that he's been going through it too, but that won't stop him and it shouldn't stop us from pursuing our best. The production on "Sincerely Banks" is mix of upbeat energetic cuts and raw hip-hop and Banks rides both types of production well.

I brought up "Blessings" at the beginning of this because Roy Banks has clearly gone through some dark times. All of this is in the middle of the project, however at both the beginning and end of "Sincerely Banks" Banks comes with positivity. That's what I walked away from this project with, there's a lot of personal trials and tribulation in this, but in the end Banks has his head up high and in the title track Roy Banks calls us to do the same. I feel like I've been reviewing tons of EPs lately, Banks is another example of him showing us his skill set and we can only imagine what a full-length from the Chicago native will sound like. Peep the EP below and let me know what you think.